new & recent described Flora & Fauna species from all over the World esp. Asia, Oriental, Indomalayan & Malesiana region

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

[Crustacea • 2017] Kani maranjandun • A New Genus and New Species of A Fully Arboreal Crab (Decapoda: Brachyura: Gecarcinucidae) from the Western Ghats, India, with Notes on the Ecology of Arboreal Crabs

A new genus and new species of tree crab is described from the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot in Kerala, southern India.Kani maranjandun gen., n. sp., is substantially different from all congeners in a suite of characters, notably the diagnostic carapace and male abdominal structure, as well as the conspicuously elongated ambulatory legs. The species is wholly arboreal, living in tree-hollows or the canopy.

Keywords: freshwater crabs, Kerala, new taxa, systematics

SYSTEMATICS

Superfamily Gecarcinucoidea Rathbun, 1904

Family Gecarcinucidae Rathbun, 1904

Kani n. gen.

Etymology: The genus is named after the people of the
Kanikkaran (also known as Kani) tribe in Kerala, who helped
in the collection of tree crab from near their hamlet. India’s
Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve, southern Western Ghats is
home to the largest population of this ancient Indian tribe. The
gender of the genus name is neuter

Etymology: The species name is derived from the Malayalam
word mara for “tree” and njandu for “crab”. The name is used as a
noun in apposition.

Ecology: Kani maranjandu n. gen., n. sp. is the first tree-climbing
crab reported from India. Morphological features such as distinctly
long legs with hooked dactyli are clearly arboreal adaptations.
The type series was collected from the tree hollows of a
Bedda nut tree, Terminalia bellirica (Gaertn.) Roxb. (Combretaceae). ....

When approached by members of the Kani tribe, the crabs climb up the trunk of Cinnamomum verum, the tribesmen then cut a series of holes in trees to climb up after them.

Appukuttannair Biju Kumar, Smrithy Raj and Peter K. L. Ng. 2017. Description of A New Genus and New Species of A Fully Arboreal Crab (Decapoda: Brachyura: Gecarcinucidae) from the Western Ghats, India, with Notes on the Ecology of Arboreal Crabs. J. Crustacean Biol. rux012. DOI: 10.1093/jcbiol/rux012